Difference
by Kiki242
Summary: Tumblr prompt: Laurel having a dark past of doing naked photo shoots to pay her way through law school and someone threatening to release them. Nyssa finds out and puts the fear in the bastard if he ever releases them.


"Wake up", she growled harshly, as she punched the upside down dangling man in the stomach. He woke with a pained grunt, he opened his eyes to meet the dark, enraged eyes of Nyssa Al Ghul. They were the only thing visible of her face due to her hood and mask. Disgruntled, he looked around in fear to that they were in an abandoned warehouse, most likely in the Glades. His senses were sluggish and foggy, and there was a concoction of fear and confusion within him. Last he remembered was walking to his car getting ready to go home. Then, everything went black. His attention was brought back to the assassin when her hand came sharply across his face, "eyes on me",

His cheek stung painfully as he met her gaze with eyes full of fear, "what's going on? Who are you?" he stammered.

Nyssa circled him then, "I am your reckoning, Mr. Schott", she said darkly. As she continued to circled him like a predator stalks its prey, her mind ran with all of sorts of ideas to get her point across while serving up the utmost pain. She was very skilled in the arts of torture and he deserved to be an example of said skills.

Furious didn't even begin to explain her emotional state. Just the sight of the man incensed her, thinking of his transgressions against Laurel just pissed her off all the more. "You and I need to talk", she stated coolly , coming back to face him once again with her cold, brown eyes meeting his scared blue ones.

"Ab-about what?" He asked fearfully, "I haven't done anything wrong. I was cleared of all charges if that's what this is about",

Her jaw clenched as she tried to control her already rising temper, he was lying to her already "Laurel Lance. I know about what you have over her head", she stated hotly.

Nyssa saw the look of understanding and recognition flash in his eyes before he masked it with a dumbfounded look , "I don't kno-", before he could finish the lie, Nyssa with lightning speed, retrieved an arrow from her quiver and jammed it into his leg, causing him to yelp in pain. His cries of pain did appease her rage. But only a little, they were just getting started.

"I must inform you, , it is futile to lie to me", she warned darkly. She despised being lied to, though, she did want him to give her every reason to inflict pain upon him. She smirked as his cries of pain were subdued to quiet sobs. She was enjoying this already.

"The pictures? That's on her she's the one that-" once again, he was cut off but this time it was due to Nyssa pulling the arrow out of his leg rather than implementing one into his body.

Once again he cried out, making the sound of ragged sobs, "What do you want? Please just let me go"

"It should be obvious. I want those pictures in my possession. Where are they?" She questioned with a harsh glare.

"Why do you care? She was stupid enough to take the damn things. I'd say she deserves it, especially with the bitch trying to get me put away for life", he wheezed painfully.

Nyssa quickly closed the distance between them, and grabbed him roughly by the hair, tugging hard on the roots and spoke to him in a low and dangerous tone, "do not refer to her in such a manner, nor will I have you holding this against her. Especially considering the sins that you have committed. Speak of her in such a way again I will cut out your tongue, understood?"

He nodded against her hold and she roughly pushed his head away, letting him go. "Tell me where the pictures are located or I will begin to have some target practice",

"Did she put you up to this?" he questioned.

Nyssa opted to not answer him, "you are upside down and bleeding out. Wasting time asking such pointless questions only increases the chances of you bleeding to death,"

"You won't let me die. At least not until you get the information that you need", he replied confidently.

"Perhaps I don't need you alive. The threat of those pictures going public dies with you",

"But anyone else would be able to find them. Anyone that she's ever put away would jump at the chance to expose a deep, dark secret of hers. Besides, are those pictures really worth a life?

"You know what those pictures will do to her life and reputation. Your life is minuscule compared to that. She is trying to do good in this city, while you add to the filth that she tries to rid it of. Now tell me where you are hiding those pictures",

He responded by spitting in her face, "I'm not telling you a damn thing",

The look on her face immediately made him regret his actions.

Sometime later after discretely dropping at the hospital and ridding herself and costume of the blood that spattered, with the pictures in hand, Nyssa returned to the apartment she was sharing with Laurel. She quietly entered the apartment and immediately detected Laurel sitting on the couch in the living room, bathed in the darkness.

"It's rather late", Nyssa said softly as she came into the living room. She became anxious when Laurel didn't respond nor move from her position on the couch, "Laurel?" She questioned anxiously.

"Please, tell me you didn't", Laurel said quietly.

Nyssa tensed at the argument that she knew was bound to happen and walked over to her, standing directly before the lawyer. Slowly, she handed over the pictures, answering Laurel's question non-verbally.

Laurel took then angrily and then stood, causing Nyssa to take a slight step back less they bump into each other. She watched as her beloved's green eyes flashed angrily, "I told you to let me handle it",

Nyssa scoffed, "your version of handling it is ineffective, Laurel. He would've had those pictures plastered all over the place if I would've stood by and did nothing",

"Did you kill him?" Laurel asked incensed. Though, Nyssa could still hear the fear in her undertones.

A bone twitched in Nyssa's jaw, "no, but I most certainly wanted to kill him. He will be in the hospital for the next few weeks, however",

A horrified look crossed Laurel's features as she thought about what Nyssa could have done, "How long did you torture him, Nyssa?" She asked in a strained voice.

"A little longer than i t was needed", Nyssa answered in a clipped tone.

Laurel sighed in exasperation and ran her free hand down her face as she walked around the coffee table to get to the other side of the living room, creating space between them, "this is not how we- how I like to handle things. I don't like resorting to torture ever, even as the Black Canary. Secondly, this was an issue I wanted to handle without a mask. I wanted to deal with this as Laurel because that was what got me into this mess", she stated while motioning to the photos.

Nyssa gave her a look of understanding, she could relate to that. It was similar to how she felt about Oliver killing her father. "Laurel," she began in a softer tone, "I understand what you are saying, at least about wanting to handle it on your own (the whole thing about torture was nonsense). But that would not have worked, the moment you came to him, he would have had those pictures all over the place",

"That may be so but I believe that I could have handled it without resorting to torture",

"What exactly do you have against torturing a man that has committed the crimes that he has? That was willing to destroy your entire life?" Nyssa inquired with bewilderment and a shake of her head.

"Regardless all those things, it is still inhumane to torture someone for hours on end. There are better ways to get information out of someone", Laurel retorted strongly.

Nyssa folded her arms and rolled her eyes, "you can be so naive. Which is why I stepped in and handled it myself. The threat is gone and you are safe, that is what is important",

Laurel's brow furrowed at that. _The threat is gone and you are safe._ That struck her as strange. Nyssa was acting as though she would've died if those pictures got out, "These pictures getting out would not be a threat to my life in the literal sense",

"Laurel, I will destroy anyone or anything that tries to harm you in any shape or form. When it comes to you, a threat is a threat and I will deal with it accordingly,"

The tension and anger in Laurel's body eased in slight as she let out another sigh. She was rather touched that Nyssa wanted to protect her from anything and everything that could harm her but the lengths that she went this time still unsettled her. The closest that she herself had ever gotten to torture was twisting that one guy's arm in the hospital and she had been reeling from the death of her sister. She had been in such an erratic and emotional state of mind at the time hell bent on making the person responsible for her sister's death pay.

Torture was something that she could never truly do while Nyssa could perform it without a bat of an eye. It was just an example of the contrasts between them. Both women born and raised to live by similar yet very different forms of moral code. Nyssa raised by a harsh father in a cold environment where one did what they had to do to bring hard and swift justice. Whereas as Laurel was raised with a loving family and in a place where there were boundaries and rights to be thought of when bringing justice.

"I sometimes forget how different we are", Laurel said finally, her voice now calm and soft.

Nyssa's face became almost expressionless as she thought for a moment. They were very different, which didn't seem to come up often or cause problems between them. The remarkable way they connected seemed to almost mask those differences. However, when those differences did spout their ugly heads, things between them would become strained. Nyssa would either shut down on Laurel, almost as though she regretted giving so much of herself to the other woman. Laurel would sometimes look at Nyssa with something that Nyssa couldn't quite name but it put a sickening feeling in her stomach. That look had been given to Nyssa from Laurel only in times like this and it was present now.

"Those differences cause you to see me as a monster", Nyssa said evenly, masking the hurt she felt at that.

Laurel's eyes widened momentarily before she gave Nyssa a mixed look of hurt and as though she was offended. With, quick, long strides Laurel crossed the room and stood before Nyssa with blazing eyes, "I do not think of you as a monster. Let that thought die right now", Nyssa was taken off guard by how strongly Laurel said those words. As though Nyssa had implied she committed some heinous crime. "I will admit you scare the hell out of me sometimes with the things you do but I do not see you as something bad or evil", she continued on. They held a staring contest for a few moments with Nyssa looking at Laurel peculiarly and Laurel gazing back with fire in her eyes and her jaw set. She did not like the implication that she saw Nyssa for something that she wasn't.

Laurel broke the eye contact by bowing her head as she relaxed her body and let a big huff of air. To Nyssa, her demeanor looked like a reflection of exhaustion. Or defeat. Nyssa bowed her head, resting it against Laurel's. She grabbed both of Laurel's wrist and rubbed het thumbs over them comfortingly. She then inhaled deeply in her nose, taking in the familiar scent of her beloved before slowing exhaling. "It's rather late", she murmured, repeating her words from earlier.

She felt Laurel shake with soft laughter, "can you please just leave some things for me to deal with? And if you must interfere refrain from torturing or maiming people, please?" she asked once she sobered.

"I will do what I can", Nyssa replied softly.

A smile spread across Laurel's lips, "thank you", she said softly. She then brought her head up and placed a soft kiss on Nyssa's forehead. Nyssa returned that gesture by placing a soft kiss on Laurel's lips. She then met Laurel's eye with a slight tilt to her head before dropping her gaze down to the photos in Laurel's hand. "What?" Laurel asked with a frown.

"Out of respect for you, I refrained from looking at them. I would like to see them", Nyssa stated, bringing her head back up to look at Laurel with her eyes shining with amusement.

With an eye roll Laurel questioned, "Are you serious?"

"Only with your permission", Nyssa replied, earning herself another eye roll, "Besides, I have seen everything there is to see of you", she added coyly.

Laurel obliged with a sigh and handed over the photos reluctantly. Nyssa took them with a soft smile playing on her lips. She opened up the envelope and pulled out the pictures. Laurel watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction. Nyssa kept her face rather impassive until she finally looked back up with a smirk, "you've put on quite a bit of muscle",

* * *

I kinda struggled with this and it took me longer than I liked. Please , leave a review telling me what you think.


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